Your rarest emperor

While I'm not overly familiar with this "scale," my understanding of it would mean that "rarest emperor" would be the one for whom the fewest coins survive today.

I wouldn't necessarily use RIC's R1 - R4 classifications, since the books are somewhat old and additional hoards have been discovered since their publication.

 

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...... Well, these are the kinds of threads that I suck at due to my collecting style.
My rarest Emperor is also my namesake, so without further delay.


Magnus Maximus Siliqua
Trier mint
weight 2.05 grams

 

You probably got the point here

Q

 

Hello,
difficult question, I still need to get my most rarest coin )
I'll give it a try this Macrinus from Galaba.

 

I have Majorian and Lib Sev.

Majorian, Western Roman Empire
AE nummus
Obv: D N IVL MAIORIANVS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped bust right
Rev: VICTORI-A AVGGG, Victory advancing right, holding palm branch and trophy
Mint: Milan (Mintmark: MD; struck 457-461 AD)
Ref: RIC X 2642



Libius Severus, Western Roman Empire
AE nummus
Obv: D N LIBIVS SEVERVS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped bust right
Rev: Monogram of Ricimer within wreath
Mint: Rome (struck 461-467 AD; Libius Severus reigned 461-465 AD)
Ref: RIC X 2715

 

Mikey-Z => the ERIC-II Rarity List is based on a sample-size of 233,056 coins found on ebay and auction-sites (sure, it may not be a large enough sample to hang your nice hat on, but it represents one sweet data-point that we can use for our own collecting purposes) ...

Note: David Sear's rarity values are another data point to help us determine which of our lil' gems may be on the rare-side of the masses

 

Since I have been coin collecting, the 'rarest' coin I have found to be the (common) One Dollar coin.
The ones I do get I put in my pocket, but they disappear just before the mailman comes. Perhaps I have a hole in my pocket?

 

I use the ERIC II rarity list which has a total number of coins by a certain ruler, this includes all obverse and reverse types as well as varieties.

RULER - RECORDS - % of total - RARITY

1 Constantine I 37428 5.611 MC
2 Trajan 23970 3.593 MC
3 Gordian III 23811 3.569 MC
4 Hadrian 23442 3.514 MC
5 Antoninus Pius 21400 3.208 MC
6 Augustus 20021 3.001 MC
7 Constantius II 19395 2.907 MC
8 Septimius Severus 18340 2.749 MC
9 Gallienus 16139 2.419 MC
10 Caracalla 15350 2.301 MC
11 Probus 15171 2.274 MC
12 Severus Alexander 14992 2.247 MC
13 Vespasian 14978 2.245 MC
14 Marcus Aurelius 14959 2.242 VC
15 Philip I 11653 1.747 VC
16 Anonymous 11480 1.721 VC
17 Domitian 11411 1.711 VC
18 Constantine II 11155 1.672 VC
19 Aurelian 10059 1.508 VC
20 Licinius I 10017 1.502 VC
21 Julia Domna 10015 1.501 VC
22 Nero 9714 1.456 VC
23 Diocletian 9052 1.357 VC
24 Commodus 8950 1.342 VC
25 Maximian 8821 1.322 VC
26 Claudius I 8569 1.285 VC
27 Faustina II 8474 1.270 VC
28 Postumus 8439 1.265 VC
29 Claudius II 8195 1.228 VC
30 Elagabalus 7988 1.197 VC
31 Constans I 7909 1.186 VC
32 Faustina I 6909 1.036 VC
33 Valens 6567 0.984 VC
34 Crispus 6275 0.941 C
35 Valentinian I 6167 0.924 C
36 Tiberius 5925 0.888 C
37 Geta 5498 0.824 C
38 Trajan Decius 5450 0.817 C
39 Julian II 5372 0.805 C
40 Maximinus I 5364 0.804 C
41 Titus 5132 0.769 C
42 Lucius Verus 5034 0.755 C
43 Nerva 4597 0.689 C
44 Theodosius I 4552 0.682 C
45 Arcadius 4325 0.648 C
46 Galerius 4165 0.624 C
47 Valerian I 3953 0.593 C
48 Gratian 3837 0.575 C
49 Julia Mamaea 3823 0.573 C
50 Philip II 3670 0.550 C
51 Maximinus II 3656 0.548 C
52 Constantius I 3649 0.547 C
53 Salonina 3318 0.497 C
54 Honorius 3289 0.493 C
55 Trebonianus Gallus 3215 0.482 C
56 Magnentius 3172 0.476 C
57 Caligula 3066 0.460 C
58 Victorinus 2991 0.448 C
59 Otacilia Severa 2757 0.413 C
60 Helena 2609 0.391 C
61 Theodosius II 2530 0.379 C
62 Lucilla 2526 0.379 C
63 Tacitus 2460 0.369 C
64 Tetricus I 2450 0.367 LC
65 Galba 2421 0.363 LC
66 Maxentius 2414 0.362 LC
67 Anastasius I 2409 0.361 LC
68 Vitellius 2386 0.358 LC
69 Valentinian II 2258 0.338 LC
70 Macrinus 2164 0.324 LC
71 Agrippa 2133 0.320 LC
72 Sabina 2126 0.319 LC
73 Volusian 2046 0.307 LC
74 Jovian 2034 0.305 LC
75 Carinus 1996 0.299 LC
76 Licinius II 1915 0.287 LC
77 Clodius Albinus 1909 0.286 LC
78 Julia Maesa 1897 0.284 LC
79 Carausius 1840 0.276 LC
80 Herennia Etruscilla 1764 0.264 LC
81 Crispina 1759 0.264 LC
82 Constantius Gallus 1566 0.235 LC
83 Numerian 1504 0.225 LC
84 Magnus Maximus 1471 0.221 LC
85 Aelius 1468 0.220 LC
86 Leo I 1379 0.207 LC
87 Severina 1360 0.204 LC
88 Carus 1340 0.201 LC
89 Tetricus II 1294 0.194 LC
90 Plautilla 1283 0.192 LC
91 Allectus 1235 0.185 LC
92 Germanicus 1215 0.182 LC
93 Quintillus 1176 0.176 LC
94 Florian 1093 0.164 LC
95 Pertinax 1074 0.161 LC
96 Pupienus 1058 0.159 LC
97 Herennius Etruscus 1050 0.157 LC
98 Delmatius 1044 0.157 LC
99 Galeria Valeria 980 0.147 S
100 Maximus Caesar 945 0.142 S
101 Zeno 945 0.142 S
102 Fausta 938 0.141 S
103 Procopius 935 0.140 S
104 Severus II 922 0.138 S
105 Decentius 913 0.137 S
106 Vetranio 906 0.136 S
107 Otho 870 0.130 S
108 Marcian 861 0.129 S
109 Diadumenian 841 0.126 S
110 Valerian II 823 0.123 S
111 Valentinian III 814 0.122 S
112 Aelia Flaccilla 805 0.121 S
113 Balbinus 780 0.117 S
114 Julia Soaemias 759 0.114 S
115 Julia Paula 707 0.106 S
116 Orbiana 659 0.099 S
117 Antonia 650 0.097 S
118 Aemilian 638 0.096 S
119 Hostilian 605 0.091 S
120 Vabalathus 577 0.086 S
121 Mariniana 515 0.077 S
122 Saloninus 514 0.077 S
123 Nero Claudius Drusus 492 0.074 S
124 Pescennius Niger 483 0.072 S
125 Theodora 465 0.070 S
126 Julia Titi 460 0.069 S
127 Drusus 459 0.069 S
128 Marius 445 0.067 S
129 Didius Julianus 440 0.066 VS
130 Livia 421 0.063 VS
131 Agrippina I 388 0.058 VS
132 Eudoxia 383 0.057 VS
133 Magnia Urbica 363 0.054 VS
134 Hanniballianus 360 0.054 VS
135 Paulina 352 0.053 VS
136 Flavius Victor 333 0.050 VS
137 Macrianus 320 0.048 VS
138 Quietus 313 0.047 VS
139 Aquilia Severa 294 0.044 VS
140 Eugenius 278 0.042 VS
141 Gordian II 269 0.040 VS
142 Gordian I 242 0.036 VS
143 Johannes 220 0.033 VS
144 Romulus 203 0.030 VS
145 Marciana 192 0.029 VS
146 Didia Clara 189 0.028 VS
147 Manlia Scantilla 184 0.028 VS
148 Domitia 169 0.025 VS
149 Constantine III 159 0.024 VS
150 Laelianus 158 0.024 VS
151 Basiliscus 143 0.021 VS
152 Eudocia 140 0.021 VS
153 Anthemius 138 0.021 VS
154 Julian I 120 0.018 VS
155 Pulcheria 120 0.018 VS
156 Plotina 113 0.017 R
157 Agrippina II 105 0.016 R
158 Galla Placidia 101 0.015 R
159 Nigrinian 95 0.014 R
160 Majorian 92 0.014 R
161 Domitius Domitianus 89 0.013 R
162 Libius Severus 81 0.012 R
163 Matidia 78 0.012 R
164 Alexander 63 0.009 R
165 Pacatian 60 0.009 R
166 Julius Nepos 58 0.009 R
167 Verina 55 0.008 R
168 Tranquillina 49 0.007 R
169 Domitilla II 47 0.007 R
170 Jovinus 47 0.007 R
171 Caius Caesar 44 0.007 R
172 Martinian 40 0.006 R
173 Zenonis 39 0.006 R
174 Honoria 38 0.006 R
175 Nepotian 36 0.005 R
176 Britannicus 35 0.005 R
177 Clodius Macer 35 0.005 R
178 Domitilla I 34 0.005 R
179 Maximus 30 0.004 R
180 Leo II 29 0.004 R
181 Cornelia Supera 28 0.004 VR
182 Licinia Eudoxia 24 0.004 VR
183 Priscus Attalus 24 0.004 VR
184 Uranius Antoninus 24 0.004 VR
185 Dryantilla 23 0.003 VR
186 Regalianus 23 0.003 VR
187 Zenobia 23 0.003 VR
188 Valerius Valens 22 0.003 VR
189 Romulus Augustus 18 0.003 VR
190 Constantius III 17 0.003 VR
191 Petronius Maximus 17 0.003 VR
192 Avitus 15 0.002 VR
193 Jotapian 15 0.002 VR
194 Annia Faustina 6 0.001 XR
195 Euphemia 5 0.001 XR
196 Glycerius 5 0.001 XR
197 Ariadne 4 0.001 XR
198 Constans II 4 0.001 XR
199 Olybrius 4 0.001 XR
200 Sebastianus 2 0.000 XR
201 Proculus 1 0.000 XR
202 Saturninus 1 0.000 XR
203 Constantia 0 0.000 NA
204 Silbannacus 0 0.000 NA
205 Domitian II 0 0.000 NA
206 Leontius I 0 0.000 NA
Sum 667076 100.000
Count 206
Mean 3254.029
Variance 5520.444
All figures coinvac.com

 

I was thinking the Eric scale too.

 

Gosh that's quite a collection. Finding the rare emperors is hard enough, but finding them in great condition (or do i mean affording them?) is nearly impossible!

 

For me, rarity is more to do with how many coins survive today. Valentinian III ruled thirty years, and he's much rarer than, say, Quintillus who only ruled a few months.

 

I am not at all a fan of the ERIC scale particularly when people ignore the fact that it does not consider provincials but there are several rulers rather common on Provincials but rare on Imperials. I will prove my claim to most contrary poster by showing my rarest ruler:
Gordian III

as Caesar under Balbinus and Pupienus (whose coins are more common than his).

Another rare one from a common guy is Caracalla
as corpse (DIVO ANTONINO MAGNO). Both of these are sestertii.

 

I learnt about the rarity of Gordian III as Caesar from one of your articles Doug.

What's an example of a ruler who is rare on imperial coins but common on provincials? Tranquillina perhaps (especially if we're allowed to include the Gordian III / Tranquillina facing busts issues). Who else?

 

I believe that 'Rarity' is 'All Things To All People'.
To M.M. (who collects Siliquae), the one coin he has difficulty finding (rarity) may differ from myself, when I ask the question "Now, which ruler don't I have and can I find (any) coin of his in my price range? (rare)"
Someone, to whom money is less of a problem, may find that a museum quality coin of Carausius is rarer that a similar quality coin of Caligula.
'Rarity' is like 'Beauty'. It lies in the eyes of the beholder.
Eric II doesn't allow for the fact that even an Emperor whose coins are 'plentiful' may have an 'issue' that is hard to find (rare).

 

Nice work, Gil-galad => your ERIC-II list is from the updated study (667,000 coin sample size) ... that's awesome

Yah-blah, I totally agree that it's not perfect ... sure, we realize that the rarity scale isn't perfect for all coin types and/or sweating the details, but it's the best thing available for the common-man (I admit that coin gurus may need a slightly more accurate scale for their specialties and sweating the details)

I merely use it as a guide, but obviously when it comes time to hunt for a coin => I compare past-sales, and comparative-condition, etc, etc, to determine a coin's probable worth ...

thanks again, Daryl (I'm gonna print-out that updated rarity list and start using it rather than the previous version) ... although when I compare them, they're still very similar, eh?

Cheers

 

I agree, it took me 8 months to find a decent unclipped and affordable Siliqua of Valentinian I. As for Magnus Maximus, just type Magnus Maximus Siliqua into Vcoins and Ebay and you will get at least 10 decent examples that won't break the bank.

 

Marcian, AD 450-457
AE4, 11mm, 1g, 6h; Constantinople mint, AD 450-457.
Obv.: DN MARCIANVS PF AVG; Pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right.
Rev.: Monogram 2+ within wreath // CON
Reference: RIV X Marcian 545, p. 282.
From the Doug Smith Collection, #1753

#108 on the Eric II scale listed above...a fer cry from the really rare ones!

I am fascinated by the tiny size of this coin... For everyday coinage use, I would just LOSE them in my large hands! Looks like something @John Anthony took out of his snuff box!

 

Diadumenian is common on Provincials but scarce on Imperials. Aemelian, Otho, Galba, Macrianus, Brittanicus (are there more?) come to mind as slightly more easily found on a Provincial but none are common by any means. The rarest Provincial I'd like to have is the two headed Titiana/Pertinax Junior of Alexandria but neither appears on Imperials at all so super rare outnumbers zero. Messalina and Poppaea are wives on Provincials that do not come on Imperials.
Messalina (Mrs. Claudius) from Alexandria


Poppaea (Mrs. Nero - Alexandria


Galba - Alexandria


Diadumenian - Nicopolis ad Istrum


Aemelian - Antioch


Macrianus - Nicaea & Byzantium

 

I absolutely love ALL those 'Provincials' Doug !!! Especially the first two, since I have nothing with a Poppaea or Messalina....I bet Mat, among many others, is drooling and green with envy---just like me!!

 

Another just sold at Kunker last Friday: https://www.kuenker.de/en/auktionen/stueck/104193